Expert weekend: Design from Marken

The Expert weekend: Design from Marken was a big success. Professionals, students and other aficionados immersed themselves for three days in different craft techniques from Marken.

In addition to its expertise as a gold embroiderer Margreet Beemsterboer conducted a thorough study of the crafts of the former island of Marken. She wants to share this knowledge. Taking numerous inspiring examples as a basis, the participants first learned the traditional technique and were then challenged to apply the techniques in their own way. They also took a look at the extensive historical collections of Aafke Buurs, The Museum of Marken and Pieter Korstman.

Day 1 – Akertjes
On Friday, the participants were introduced to making Knotted “Akertjes”, the mysterious ornament that was hung on the Frisian Knotten Cloths or collars.

Day 2 – Wide Open Hem
On the second day of the course, they learned how to embroider a wide open hem. Margreet also showed her own gold embroidery, where she told much about. The day ended with a visit to Aafke Buurs, a collector of samplers with a huge collection of embroideries.

Day 3 – Boezelbreitje
The last day, the participants learned about the “boezelbreitje”, a seam which is incorporated in the Marker “Stikkies”. They also visited the Museum of Marker and its chairman Piet Korstman, both of which also showed a great collection of costumes and Marker utensils.

Photo credits: Crafts Council Nederland / Thijs Adriaans